December 10

Sometimes in a period of waiting, such as Advent, our tendency might be to just want to "wait around" for the event...to sit by idly, thinking about the great event that is to come. And yet, sometimes in the waiting, there is a lot to be done. My current checklist includes:

1. Buy a few more gifts
2. Go to the Post Office--not my favorite chore!
3. Clean house--my whole family is coming into town for Christmas
4. Do some baking
5. And many more errands and projects that seem so pressing right now

But that's not really what Advent is about, is it? Getting my check list of day to day items completed? Jesus is coming--that's what Advent is about--the coming or the important arrival of Jesus. We should be so excited about his coming that we should want to tell everyone. Just as I am so excited for my family to spend Christmas in Colorado with us, I should be equally and even more excited that we are celebrating the arrival of our Savior.

On a side note, Joel & I have a strange tradition of getting KFC on Christmas Eve. It started one year when I didn't want to cook on Christmas Eve AND Christmas Day, so we decided we would blow the bank on calories for one night and eat fried chicken to our heart's delight. Yesterday Joel & I were talking about how excited we were to get KFC--we never have it otherwise. I had to ask myself, "Am I more excited about getting to eat KFC than I am for Christmas itself?" Yikes!

So what do I do to "get excited" about Christmas in this world of "Happy Holidays" and "Family Trees"? And how do I share my excitement with others?
Here are a few ideas I came up with. I'd love to hear yours.

Service Opportunities
1. Read the Christmas story (or parts of it) every night as a family. Matthew 1:18-23 or Luke 1:1-2:40
2. Read the Christmas story with any and all guests who might come into your home this December.
3. Better yet, invite your friends and neighbors over for dessert or dinner with the intent of sharing the Good News with them.
4. Invite your friends and neighbors to attend a Christmas Eve service with you. You're going anyway, right? Even though our church doesn't have a Christmas Eve service, it has 5 great services on Saturday evening & Sunday morning. The gospel is given at every service. You're welcome to come to our church--Grace Church.
5. Be specific about saying "Merry Christmas" this December. A quick story: our Children's Ministry Pastor spoke at church this weekend and he said he was at the mall recently when a young child walked passed and said "Merry Christmas" to him. The mom then grabbed the young child and said "It's Happy Holidays". Our pastor wasn't sure if the mom was worried about being offensive or what, but it was very disheartening.
6. Pray for our missionaries living in countries where Christmas is not celebrated. They are often separated from their families and it can be a lonely time.
7. Pray for your family and friends and neighbors who don't know the Lord. It's a great time of year to open that conversation.
8. Pray for your pastor(s). It's a busy time in churches and they have family and friends to take care of too.
9. Pray for your family--whether you have kids or not--that you will be able to focus on Jesus' arrival.
10. Even though it's already December 10, it's not too late to make a paper chain to count down the days until Christmas. Even though we don't have kids, we still find this fun to do to helps us generate some excitement.
11. Eat dinner as a family--or invite some people over--and talk about the Christmas traditions you celebrated in your home and why you celebrated them. Which ones do you want to be sure to do each year?
12. Choose one night a week for the next 2 weeks (or more) to "fast" or eat a light meal for dinner. Donate the money you would have spent on food to a homeless shelter or another great charity. We have a great homeless ministry right here in Denver--The Denver Rescue Mission.
13. Even though it may seem selfish, take time to pray for yourself--it's not selfish at all. Pray that you would be able to see past the busy-ness of the season and be able to praise and worship God for all he has done for us, and all he has yet to do.

What will you do to create some Christmas excitement in your life? How will you help those around you to be focused on the right things this Christmas?

What will be your response--with actions and words--to those around you who aren't focused on the right things?

How will you glorify God in the day to day items you have to take care of in the next two weeks?

"After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen in the east went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him..." Matthew 2:9-11a